LOWELL, Mass. – After another successful year exchanging letters with second graders at McAuliffe and Murkland Elementary Schools, UMass Lowell student-athletes spent a morning with their pen pals during their annual Pen Pal Picnic at Costello Athletic Center on Wednesday, April 12.
 
"It's really an amazing program that has taken off, and the kids love it," said Tara Bedard, one of McAuliffe's second-grade teachers. "They wrote back and forth for a few months before they had this culminating experience here at UMass Lowell on campus. Their writing has grown so much, and they've improved incredibly in their writing because they want to impress these college athletes that they're writing to."
 
The program has not only helped the student-athletes be more involved in the community, but it has given the children an opportunity to connect with students who may have once been in their shoes.
 
"I really feel like one of the opportunities for our students is to come to UMass Lowell and look at the facilities to see people that are similar to them and say, 'Wow someday I can be here as well,'" remarked Barbara Smith, a teacher at Murkland Elementary school, as well as the track and field throws coach for the River Hawks. "One of my students said to me, 'This is the best day of my life!' You just have to laugh because they really feel this connection with these people that they had only met through letters."
 
One of the lead developers of the program, UMass Lowell's Athletic Academic Coordinator Sima Suon helped organize this opportunity for the student-athletes. When first setting up the Pen Pal Program, she wanted to find a way for student-athletes to do more for their community.
 
"The goal of this is for our student-athletes to serve their communities to be a positive impact on future generations," explained Suon. "It also is for our younger students to aspire to come to college to learn more about UMass Lowell and what it has to offer."
 
The second graders and their teachers were grateful for the chance to be involved in this program and to take part in a rare opportunity.
 
"They drive by UMass Lowell, it's all over their city and they get to see it, but to be here and feel it and be a part of it, they may not ever have that opportunity, so we feel very lucky and honored to be a part of this program," concluded Bedard.